"ORS" 2004 Obituary

ORSER o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2004-12-29 published
A creative force makes final exit
By Jonathan
SHER,
FreeFreeReporter
Earl ORSER, who reshaped Eatons and London Life and led countless
community causes in London, has died. The 76-year-old Londoner
died Sunday in his north London home, secure in his legacy and
comforted by his faith, his family said.
Told this month his cancer was terminal and he had weeks to live,
ORSER, a man who made a life of making change despite obstacles,
accepted his fate, his daughter Barbara
ORSER said yesterday.
"Let me get this straight," he told his doctor. "It's a no-fix."
ORSER's death will be felt across Canada, said John
KIME, president
of the London Economic Development Corp., an organization on
which ORSER served as the founding chair.
"This is truly a national business leader that we have lost,"
KIME said yesterday.
Born in 1928 in Toronto,
ORSER grew up in the Danforth, a working-class
neighbourhood. The encouragement of a high school teacher led
ORSER to apply for and get a scholarship to the University of
Toronto, an act of kindness he was to repeat many times over
for countless others.
"That genuinely stayed with him the rest of his life," Barbara
ORSER said.
His humble beginnings may go a long way to explain the way
ORSER
treated those who worked for him, seeking out their opinions
and taking a real interest in their lives.
"Anybody that was around him had an opinion that was worthy of
expression,"
KIME said.
ORSER's leadership skills were honed as a university student
when he led a work crew of surveyors through remote areas of
New Brunswick.
"I can't think of a better way to cut your teeth," Barbara
ORSER
said.
ORSER became a chartered accountant in 1953 and then a partner
in the firm Clarkson Gordon before he began his rise in corporate
Canada.
He played leading roles at Molson, Air Canada and Eatons, where
as chief executive officer he made a difficult decision, ending
the retailer's catalogue business.
That decision was one of the few times he was unprepared for
a question, said Jim
ETHERINGTON, whose tenure at London Life
began with
ORSER.
"How could you do it?" the late Barbara
FRUM of Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation asked,
ETHERINGTON recalled.
It wasn't ORSER's only brush with controversy.
In 1978, he was hired by Brascan, an asset management company,
to do a study of London Life, which he was then asked to implement.
The insurance company, long run by the Jeffery family, was resistant
to change by an outsider, but under
ORSER the company went public
and assets grew to more than $16 billion from $3.9 billion.
Blake FEWSTER, former chief actuary at London Life, said of
ORSER,
"He was the most creative person I ever worked for. He modernized
the management system and had a great sense of how things should
be done."
His acceptance there no doubt had something to do with the way
he treated employees, family and colleagues say.
Each year as the holidays approached, he took two or three days
to personally wish each employee a merry Christmas, Barbara
ORSER
said.
His eagerness to take on challenges extended to his community,
even to his province, as in 1990, when the Ontario government
sought his help.
Bob RAE's
NewDemocraticParty government asked him to write
a report on how to improve health care in the London region,
and a year later he recommended consolidating the city's hospitals.
His advocacy met with great resistance then, but later became
a model for consolidation by successive governments at Queen's
Park.
Marion BOYD was an New Democratic Party cabinet minister and
in many ways on the opposite end of the political spectrum from
ORSER, yet she respected his work.
"He was certainly well thought of as a person of integrity and
as someone who really cared about issues affecting his community
and the world,"
BOYD said.
Years later,
ORSER butted heads with London city council when,
as chairperson of the fledgling London Economic Development Corp.,
he argued against what he and his staff viewed as unjustified
meddling.
His efforts may have saved the London Economic Development Corp.
from an early end,
KIME said.
"I don't think there's any doubt his status gave us the breathing
room we needed."
ORSER was to perform some of his most meaningful work behind
the scenes, his daughter Barbara said.
He mentored countless people, from contemporaries of his daughters
when they were still in high school to mature professionals.
"He could see someone's potential before they saw it themselves,"
she said.
When a high school guidance counsellor questioned him about the
lack of women entering engineering, he set up a scholarship through
John Paul II high school in London.
While he rose to the halls of power, he was rooted to lifelong
Friends and common-sense ideas he'd instil in his children and
grandchildren.
Each year, he took his family back to east Toronto to attend
Palm Sunday services at Kimburne Park United Church, taking time
to rub the pews of his childhood.
When he accepted an honorary doctorate from Western, he offered
this advice: "Hug your mom, don't get stuck in a rut and put
something back in the cookie jar."
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. January 8 at First-St.
Andrew's United Church at 350 Queens Ave. in London. Family will
receive Friends one hour before the service.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made
to the London Regional Cancer Centre or University College Morrison
Hall at the University of Toronto.
Earl ORSERRemembered
"Earl is the kind of person who has made Western a great university
and we all owe an enormous debt to him."
Paul DAVENPORT, president, University of Western Ontario
"This was a man genuinely committed to London, its success and
its growth. He took a very strong leadership role and was insistent
on certain principles. He did that with a great deal of skill
and diplomacy in a difficult political environment."
John KIME, president, London Economic Development Corp.
"His influence was big in the business community. I knew him
through his work at the (London Economic Development Corp.),
where he was the chair of the first board. He brought a common-sense
approach and rallied the community. We're all saddened by his
passing."
MayorAnneMarieDECICCO
"He did a wonderful job at London Life.... He exhibited some
great leadership. He had a great sense of humour but he was resolute
and tough. He didn't play golf too well but he was a great people
person."
Peter WIDDRINGTON, former chief executive of John Labatt Ltd.
Earl ORSER's
Life And Work
1928 Born July 5 in Toronto.
1950 Graduated from the University of Toronto. Joined Clarkson
Gordon, becoming a chartered accountant in 1953 and later a partner.
1961 Joined Anthes Imperial, becoming a vice-president, before
the conglomerate was bought by Molson Industries.
1968 Became a senior vice-president and director at Molson.
1970 Joined Air Canada as vice-president, finance.
1973 Joined the T. Eaton Co. Ltd., becoming president and Chief
Executive Officer.
1978 Hired as a consultant by Brascan, an asset management company,
to do a study of London Life, which he was then asked to implement.
1980 Named president and Chief Executive Officer at London Life.
1989 Selected chairperson of the London Life Board.
1991 Wrote a study for Bob
RAE's
NewDemocraticParty government
advocating consolidation of London hospitals. Named a fellow
of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Given distinguished
business alumni award by the University of Toronto.
1992 Given Canada 125 medal for business leadership.
1994 Stepped down as chairperson of London Life but continued
on other corporate boards such as Toronto-based Spar Aerospace.
1997 Named to the Order of Canada. Inducted in the London Business
Hall of Fame. Founding chairperson of the London Economic Development
Corp.
2001 Announced he would retire from the London Economic Development
Corp. board.
Notable achievements:
- Served eight years on the board of governors at University
of Western Ontario, chairing it from 1988-89.
- Advisory committees to University of Western Ontario's Richard
Ivey School of Business and Orchestra London.
- Served on the boards of the Robarts Research Institute, the
Young Men's Christian Association, Canada Trust, Royal Trust
and Brascan Ltd.
- Chaired the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.

ORSER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2004-12-29 published
Former London Life Chief Executive Officer dies
Canadian Press, Wednesday, December 29, 2004 - Page B3
London, Ontario -- Earl
ORSER, a former president and chief executive
officer of London Life Insurance Co. who also worked for a number
of other prominent Canada companies, has died. He was 76.
Mr. ORSER died Sunday following a battle with cancer.
Labelled an "outsider" in a company that usually promoted from
within, Mr.
ORSER led London Life for nearly two decades, when
the company's assets grew from $3.9-billion to more than $16-billion.
London Life was taken over by the Great-West Lifeco Inc. in 1997,
when Mr. ORSER was described in citations as a "consummate businessman"
and named a member of the Order of Canada.
Before joining London Life, Mr.
ORSER held senior positions with
Molson and Air Canada. He also served on the boards of some of
the country's best-known firms, including Brascan and Spar Aerospace.
His community work was as expansive, as he raised money for many
organizations, chaired many boards and wrote a landmark study
for Ontario's New Democratic Party government in the early 1990s
advocating the consolidation of London hospitals.